


Living as an Outcast

by MrSnailDood



Category: HTTYD Books - Fandom, Hiccup Series - Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon Book Series, How To Train Your Dragon(Books)
Genre: Events between Book 9 and 10, So expect a lot of pain and suffering, Timeskip slot-in fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 02:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19803250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrSnailDood/pseuds/MrSnailDood
Summary: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, former heir to Berk and son of Stoick the Vast, vanished after his Slavemark was revealed and the Dragon Rebellion began. What has happened to him throughout that year when he was an Outcast? How did he cope with the stress of running away from both Dragon and Viking? How did he survive the rough depths of the forest? Most of all, how did he cope with his inner nightmares? This story handles the missing part between Book 9 and Book 10.A direct copy-and-paste of a fanfiction I wrote back in 2015... For now. Will be edited and added to over time.





	1. Prologue: The Boy Hunt

"Have you found him?"

The soft, scratchy voice of the Witch echoed throughout the Great Hall. The room was coated in gold and precious metals, glistening and shining; rather contrasting to the bloody battlefield outside.

While a warm hearth was located in the center of the room, the atmosphere of the room was colder than any of the Devastating Winters of the Archipelago.

The two Viking men (Some bulky, tattooed Danger-Brutes), despite being so larger than the scrawny skeleton of the witch, gulped in terror as they refused to answer the simple question.

Excellinor's dark eyes glistened with malice. Her old witch was crouched low to the ground; her bony face a sickening white with bloodshot eyes. She looked like one of your worst nightmares, her already gruesome face curled into a nasty scowl. The two flinched and instinctively placed their hands near their axes.

She hissed in pure fury.

"How DARE you loose him? That boy- _WE NEED HIM KILLED_! He needs to be ripped into pieces, thrown into oblivion, burnt to ashes, _HE MUST NOT LIVE_! He's a Hiccup, and those miserable Hiccup boys are always sly as snakes and slippery as eels.... He still has the Dragon and the map to the jewel! FIND HIM, you miserable hogs, or else you'll have to taste the sweet poison on my wrinkled fingers!"

She dragged her sharp, metallic fingertips to the glistening floor, causing an earsplitting screech as the purple Vorpent poison trailed across the stone.

The men's faces grew pale as they watched the poison trickle towards the tips of their metal boots, hurriedly backing away as the deadly liquid hissed through the floor. They gave a quick bow, and rather clumsily escaped the room.

The witch spat on the floor, cursing under her breath. She whipped around, scuttling across the room till she approached the large poster hanging up on one of the walls.

On the poster, there was a drawing of a young boy. He looked rather scrawny, with a timid expression scrawled on his pale, freckled face. A large helmet covered most of his head, with a few tufts of bright red hair poking out of each side. On his side, there was a minuscular green dragon with unusually bare gums.

With an animalistic howl, the Witch dragged her metallic talons against the poster. The soft brown paper ripped into a mess of purple, the liquid seeping into the drawing and disfiguring the face of the boy.

Excellinor snatched what was left of the poster off the wall, and drew it near her face. She placed a tender finger against the smudged drawing, tracing it against the mangled face of the boy.

"I will hunt you down, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and I'll make sure you end up like the first two who _dared_ to change Fate...."

Far, far away, the very same young boy of the poster woke up with a gasp.


	2. Chapter 1: Nightmares

The scream pierced the midnight into the Wodensfang's sharp little ears. The old, wrinkled dragon shot up from his mossy bed and stood, blinking his florescent eyes, hastily spinning around in case of any danger(Although, there wasn't really anything the small dragon could do in this monstrosity of a place). Nonetheless, the Wodensfang quickly realized the scream had come from... Hiccup.

All the drowsiness left in the Wodensfang vanished, replaced with pure dread.

Thousands of "What if's" raced through the Wodensfang as he flapped his poor old wings towards the far corner of the cave.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear OH DEAR

Was all that he could think of.

What the Wodensfang found wasn't an intruder at all. It wasn't a rogue dragon, it wasn't a Red Rage Dragon, it wasn't a Viking warrior. There were no Venomous Vorpents or a Poisonous Puffleworm or even a stray Common or Garden in here(Well, except for Toothless, who was somehow still sleeping through this racket).

But Hiccup was sitting bolt upright, his bloodshot eyes wide with alarm, his gaunt face white as paper. All that was moving was his quivering lower lip, blue and dry after the cold night.

The Wodensfang relaxed for a second. At least it wasn't anything dangerous. However, a wave of pity and worry rolled over the small dragon. It hadn't been something physically dangerous, but this... this was much more. More in depth, more hidden, more confusing, more... emotional. It was something the Wodensfang had a hard time dealing with.

He knew what was going on. This had been happening for days now. Since the day when the Great War between the Dragons and the Vikings had started, they had happened, over and over, every morning and every night, torturing and suffocating the poor boy.

Nightmares.

They came, every night, hiding within the invisible cloaks of darkness. Hiccup would wake up, thrashing wildly in his bed, rambling words of sorrow and anger and fear and terror, saying unforgivable things to himself. And when they came, the Wodensfang saw a very different side of Hiccup, one he hadn't known so well before.

"Stop it, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, I'm not a hero.. I'm not the King... Why... Stop it, It's not fair, don't - Father, don't go... I'm sorry... Don't leave me... Help.... Camicazi... Fishlegs... I..I'm scared...I don't want to be alone... I don't want... I don't.... I.... Help..."

This human in front of him wasn't the brave Viking Hero that the crazy haired girl had believed he had been. He wasn't the savior of dragons, or the King of the Wilderwest, or the heir to Berk. He was just a young child. Just a young...child...

Just like the two other Hiccups had been. How his Hiccup had been.

The Wodensfang gritted his wearing fangs. This wasn't fair. History was repeating itself. The heavy burden was upon tiny shoulders once more. If only someone had helped, stayed on their side, shared the pain and responsibility and fear.... Maybe it wouldn't have been so tragic.

And that someone had to be himself.

Silently, the Wodensfang climbed up the rocky surface of the cave, and approached the shaking boy. Hiccup didn't seem to notice him. He was still in his frozen state, continuously rambling those terrible words. This moment, the Wodensfang wished he couldn't understand Norse. It was like the chanting of the Red Rage, these words were channeling Hiccup's fear, making him so vulnerable.

The Wodensfang determinately scrambled up Hiccup's right arm sleeve. The boy flinched, hesitantly lifting his head to meet the yellow eyes of the Wodensfang. His blank eyes came to focus as he recognised the Wodensfang.

"H..Hiccu-"

With a strangled scream, Hiccup jerked backwards, the sudden movement nearly sending the Wodensfang flying off. He began to thrash wildly, kicking and fighting and screaming with tears running down his cheeks. Something in his terrified voice had changed- No, the language was completely different this time. Hiccup was screaming in dragonese, and the Wodensfang knew those words that were tumbling out of Hiccup's mouth a little too well.

Make red your claws with human blood

Obliterate the human filth

Torch the humans like a wood

The Rebellion is coming...

In a jolt of horror, the Wodensfang realized that Hiccup was chanting the hypnotic words of the RED RAGE. He immediately scrambled up and tried to block Hiccup from continuing those treacherous words. If any of Furious's dragons were to hear this... Wodensfang discontinued that thought. He needed to calm Hiccup down before anyone noticed. He had to think fast. How could he make the boy listen? Honestly, the Wodensfang didn't know a lot about this boy, they had only met several days ago! He racked his failing memories to find something, something about the boy that could help. That moment, something clicked in the Wodensfang's old brain.

"Hiccup, shall I tell you a story?"

The effect was instantaneous. Hiccup stopped trying to wrestle the Wodensfang off his face. His expression changed from terror to curiosity. His body was still tense, but at least he was staying still - For now.

The Wodensfang sighed, and began his story.


	3. Chapter 2: Old Stories, Bright Fires

Wodensfang shuffled his feet. Hiccup was just watching him with expectancy, his fingers still trembling. Any moment and he would loose his nerve again. A story.. A story. What stories did the Wodensfang even know? Most were about his happy adventures and tragic endings with Hiccup the Fir- 

That's it.

"Hiccup, I doubt you are in the sane state of mind to remember this, but you'll surely remember that I once had a human friend with the same name as you do.

"Back in the Firepit we did not have enough time, and I did not trust you so well.

Hiccup's brow creased, and the Wodensfang hurriedly continued.

"Well, now you're not in the state to go anywhere or do anything. A perfect time to continue on where we were left off. About....about Hiccup the First. You were certainly interested in that story, yes? Let's start from the beginning. Pardon me if I stumble, it's been such a long time ago....

You see, you couldn't have possibly known we would become blood-brothers if you had first seen us together. Although he was the one who saved me and healed me, I could not forget how he was my target to KILL. 

So I spent day after day considering, if I should do as I originally intended or spare him. And I tried to stay as far I could from that little boy. And how puny he was back then. He was much smaller and younger than you. Can you believe that little scrap of a boy had such courage? I still find it hard to believe. 

No matter how much I tried to scare Hiccup with my fangs, my claws, the burning fire in my mouth, he would just not back off. Perhaps it was because what I had learned later on in life; that he had been a loner in his tribe. Born the runt son of one of the most admired Dragon Hunters in his tribe, his mother dead when he was just a baby, he told me he tried his best to help with the little skill he had but it was all rebuffed. He lived like that for nine years of his life. Then he found me.

He told me he had been scared, obviously, but as every child, he had curiosity. He would touch my scales in fascination when he thought I was sleeping, secretly sketch drawings of my form. He listened to all the Dragonese I said(Most of them were insults) and would write them down, that boy. I have to admit I had some interest about this unusual Viking. But I stayed my guard until... 

Well, it was sooner or later till the hunters(Including the Hiccup's father) found us. I was still half asleep when Hiccup shook me awake, yelling at me that we had to go. But what state was I in? I could fly, indeed, but in a half asleep state I would obviously loose balance and topple to the ground. It was hopeless. Then Hiccup did something that no Viking had EVER done before.

He grabbed a spare rope and tied it around my neck. And he SAT ON MY BACK. I don't even remember how shocked and surprised and slightly annoyed I was at that action; but I had no time to think. The Viking party went crashing in the forest, torches hold and faces grim. Without thinking I reared up and took off, Hiccup still on my back.

It was terrifying.

I once boasted my brilliant night sight. Now I could not see a thing, because of my sleep driven, tired, yet healed state. I just blindly flapped my wings around, crashing into trees and who knows what. The boy would yell something, I could not hear a thing. I spiraled and flapped in panic in the black of the night, just about to crash any moment.

Then Hiccup did something extraordinary. I still have wonders about what he did. He just whispered something in my ear, and placed his small little hand on my snout. I do not know what magical powers he used on me, but somehow that warm comforting hand calmed me down.Perhaps it was because it was the same hand that sewed up my wounds, fed me mackerel, freed me from the tree.

He took the lead from there. Although even he could not see a thing in the night, he knew the forest and the trees like the back of his hand. How could he not? He had grown with the thick undergrowth, and one errand his father always asked him to do was to collect firewood. He knew how high each tree was and how much they stretched out the island. 

Anyhow, we managed to escape from the close capture. I was astonished- Once again, by Hiccup's bravery. How that little boy could even manage to guide ME- RIDE me without a split second thought. And top of all that, it felt natural. As if, well..... we were meant to work as a team. The very thought fascinated me and was the reason why I grew so interested in humans. Hiccup had a unique light of his own, like a flickering candle. It was small, but ever so bright. And I decided that I should not distinguish that warmth and power he had. And...."

The Wodensfang turned to the Hiccup in front of him. Hiccup's face glowed in the eyebeams of the wise old dragon. His expression- still a bit wary; but fascinated. The Wodensfang had been slightly worried that Hiccup wasn't listening(It felt quite odd for no questions to be heard), but the boy tipped his head in wonder when the story abruptly stopped. He was waiting. Not for the nightmares to rear up and attack him, but for the Wodensfang's hushed voice to continue an old story. That was good.

"And, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, I think.... I think YOU also have that light and warmth in your heart. A blazing fire, in fact. You WILL face the terrible winds of tomorrow, the choking grasps of this horrible war... But I believe your fire is stronger. I believe you will burn through all the hatred and pain and create someplace... 

That dragons and humans can start over."

Hiccup's eyes grew wide as the Wodensfang gave his little speech. He looked down, unable to speak. There was a mixture of hope and doubt in his eyes. 

"Hiccup, I know you are afraid. This all sounds like too much responsibility, and admittedly it is. However... 

"Remember that you aren't alone in this seemingly endless war. The Vikings are confused, and I'm afraid your human friends are as well. Don't blame them for being absent. I haven't seen them very much or know them very well. But I very clearly remember that noble act one of your friends preformed. That necklace around your neck, Hiccup, it means he still believes in you."

Hiccup looked stunned at first, but the corners of his mouth were rising. For the first time in what it seemed like ages, the boy looked much more relaxed.

"And obviously, you still hav-"

"TOOTHLESS! M-m-master Hiccup obviously h-has Toothless with him!"

The two turned around to see the tiny green dragon, with his chest puffed up in a supposedly heroic fashion(Yet it looked ridiculous). Hiccup giggled, moving over and scratching Toothless by his horns.

"Y-yes Toothless, I obviously have you."

"Lookie there! Master Hiccup is stuttering like T-t-Toothless! HAH!"

The two started a small playfight, and the Wodensfang couldn't resist smiling at the silly pair scuffling with each other, like there was nothing to worry about. After a few minutes, withToothless settled on Hiccup's lap and Hiccup stroking his back, the Wodensfang decided it was a good time to finish what he had left off.

"As I mentioned, Hiccup, you still have friends by your side. Me, as well as your little hunting dragon, and also that lovely gentle fellow with the excellent flying skills over there."

Hiccup grinned in agreement and glanced at the sleeping Windwalker slumped in a huge furry lump of black fur and scales. He was in a very deep sleep(Remember, it was still his hibernation time) and didn't even stir once, just gently snoring on and constantly mumbling about butterflies.

They just watched the Windwalker for the rest of the night, until Hiccup's tired eyes close again and he drifted off to sleep. His soft breathing told the Wodensfang that he wasn't having any more of those dreadful nightmares. He gazed at the sleeping boy and his dragons with a wistful expression on his face. 

"They remind me of you and I, Hiccup. I think.... That is why I believe in him. I do not know why Fate has decided to let me help another boy of your namesake, but... Perhaps it's to make sure that you are able to keep your promise. Nonetheless,"

The Wodensfang gave a long sigh, and settled down on the dusty floor.

"I still miss you, lad."


	4. Chapter 3: Rise and Sh- NEVERMIND JUST GET OUT OF HERE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There may or may not be some icky stuff in this chapter. And most likely other chapters too. It's not THAT specific or graphic, but you should know by now how much I love to make Hiccup suffer(Insert bad attempt of evil laughter). 
> 
> Anyhow, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Hiccup just had the best sleep he'd had in ages. Well, considering the fact that he hadn't had ANY sleep at all, he was willing for anything that didn't include nightmares. 

Too bad for him, because sleeping like a log just made him totally unprepared for being shook awoken by a desperate, terrified Common or Garden dragon EYEBALLING HIM IN THE FACE. 

"HICCUP!! WAKE UP! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP OR WE'LL GOING TO BE E,EATEN!!!!"

Hiccup yelped and scrambled around his "bed" in such a fashion that he ended up toppling face first on the dirt. Still drowsy and oblivious of the situation, he groaned and rubbed his chin, glaring at his little dragon in annoyance. 

"Ugggh, Toothless! You could've just woken me up in- Suffering SCALLOPS!"

Hiccup as he lifted his head to see a humongous snarling ball of entangled dragons; blood red and scruffy black clashing together like a thunderstorm at sunset. Hiccup quickly realized; surprisingly, it was the Windwalker that was battling inside that rampage. No time to think twice, another brown blur grabbed Hiccup by the sleeve, and began tugging with all his might to the cave entrance.

"Wodensfang?! What's going on?!"

"No time, Hiccup! We must leave before that nasty red one brings reinforcements! GO!"

Hiccup hesitated, glancing back at the two dragons fighting. One was loyally protecting him, the other was trying to MURDER him. Even in the crazy midst of the clawing and biting, Hiccup saw pure hatred in the red dragon's(Monstrous Nightmare, he suspected) glowing green eye, staring directly at HIM. He shuddered. If that rage was directed to the Windwalker....

Toothless bit him on the shoulder, bringing Hiccup out of his thoughts. He flapped around like a hummingbird, his eyes wide. He had swelled up in anticipation, purple in the face with his master's stupidity.

" G-GO! WE NEED TO GO! DO YOU WANT US ALL K-KILLED?"

Hiccup was about to retort about how he couldn't leave Windwalker alone here, but what could he do? This was a full sized, adult MONSTROUS NIGHTMARE - Oh for Thor's Sake- and Hiccup's usually busy brain had groaned to a stop in the past few days. It was like some of the gears inside his head had gone rusty; the ticking thing had been like that every now and then. Hiccup couldn't think of ANYTHING at all. So he did the obvious.

Ignoring all his complaining body joints and muscles(Who hadn't done much in the past few weeks) Hiccup stumbled towards the cave entrance, occasionally banging his head on stalactites. He almost fell over a few times, but the small two dragons were always there to balance him back up.

Everything was a blur until Hiccup found himself panting for breath under a thick bush of brambles. He felt sick and woozy, all that running hadn't done much help to his skinny little fish stick of a body. Why was his vision all yellowish? That couldn't be right - Oh NO -

"Hiccup? Are you alrigh- My goodness, HICCUP!"

The Wodensfang yelped as Hiccup doubled over and threw up what was left of his poor empty stomach. Toothless's face screwed up in disgust, backing up with his ears flat on his head.

"Y, y, YUCKY!"

Hiccup started coughing, his shoulders heaving as he struggled to breath through the fowl bile building up through his mouth. Parts of his bright red(and slightly burnt) hair fell to his face, making him look like what was left of a sickly volcanic eruption- a big mess of grey splatters and red. 

Finally, after one last choke for breath, Hiccup relaxed. He slumped limply against the bush, half buried in the thick green shoots, trying to calm down his irregular breathing. 

Toothless picked a leaf between his gums and tried his best to rub the remainders off Hiccup's face. It ended up spreading more than ever, but Hiccup gave a weak smile of appreciation. Even after that close brush against death, everything seemed alright now. The forest seemed so peaceful and quiet.

TOO quiet.

Hiccup's smile disappeared as soon as he realized something was wrong.

"Wait... Where is...."

The Wodensfang looked down guiltily. 

Hiccup tried to stand up, but his spindly knees could not support his weight. He could not get up. He could not walk, nor run. Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair in distress.

"Suffering scallops, suffering scallops, I'm so STUPID, why did I leave him behind like that, it's all my fault..."

Hiccup lifted his head up with a sudden idea.

"We can go back, right? The Nightmare should be gone by now, Windwalker could be hiding and waiting for us!"

Wodensfang did not know how he would reply to that hopeful, young face. He gave a long sigh, struggling to find the words. Hiccup's face fell with the familiar sense of dread.

"..Hiccup, it is.... highly unlikely that Windwalker could've faced that dragon himself. Monstrous Nightmares are a very vicious species, and that dragon was part the Red Rage. And more dragons would have gathered in that area by now. They... They will recognize your scent, begin to search every inch of that cave and it's surroundings for anything that relates to you, and bring it to Furious. Windwalker... By now..."

Wodensfang could not bear to continue that sentence. He knew how merciless the war was. It would tear down everything, take everyone you loved without a inkling of hesitation. It did not care how many souls it ripped to pieces. If you did not know this, well, you had to learn it the hard way.

Hiccup started to cry.


	5. Chapter 4: How to Hunt like a HIccup

Crack!

The sharp noise of the whip pierced the air as it met it's mark. A deep groan of pain was followed with wary grumbles as the bustling line of Vikin- No, what used to be Vikings- geared into a stop.

"Get on with it, you miserable mucus-covered toads! You don't want your new masters waiting, do you?"

The nasty, impatient drawl came from none other than a teenaged boy, his face still full of blackened adolescent pimples and red stubble. Nonetheless, his muscled shoulders rippled with all sorts of nasty tattoos and his head was lifted with pride, showing off dominance upon those around him. Some were once his friends, tutors, even family. Now all was reduced to a simple but foul relationship: Master and Slave. Superior and Inferior. 

A tattered black star glittered around his neck.

And a brilliant set of blue eye glittered in the shadows near by. They were filled with absolute disgust. These eyes were owned by none other than the Bog Burglar Heir, the one and only, who had escaped the crowd because she refused to lose her dignity and freedom. It was just her nature.

The question was, to whom was that disgust directed to?

Camicazi gave a huff of frustration as she turned her back from the whole situation altogether. She was dealing with one thing she absolutely HATED, and that was having too many thoughts altogether. She liked things straight. She liked everything to be clear, to be smooth. After all, she was a Viking.

Here's the basic picture:

First things first, a bunch of rogue dragons declared war on their masters and several hundred of both sides were either injured or killed. Next, most of the survivors agreed to follow that limbless, stinking heap of dragon- Sorry, I meant Alvin. And then, here Alvin says, and all the Elders agree, that they needed the "Dragon Jewel" to defeat the dragons. Obviously all that Alvin hated became Slaves to hunt the jewel down.

Great. That was clear. Camicazi understood THAT(And this was pretty impressive, some other daft Vikings like Dogsbreath the Duhbrain are probably still scratching their bottoms in confusion)

BUUUUUT....

Things get a little tricky when your best friend/Hero/Secretly Role Model/The-Only-Boy-That-Camicazi-Actually-Respected was the very person who caused it all.

And that very person is what caused Camicazi a headache. A very BAD headache.

She had done the right thing back then, right? She turned away from him. What he did had been wrong. He, the HEIR TO THE HOOLIGANS, the most trustworthy person she knew, had LIED to everyone. His rank, his reputation. It was all a big FRAWD. FOR THOR'S SAKE, HE WAS A SLAVE! What's worse, he had freed the Dragon Furious. His stupidity was going to destroy everyone's lives. This wasn't a Hero AT ALL.

But then again... Then again, he was the Hero. He saved Camicazi's life from those insufferable Roman Pigs. He saved her again from the Berserk Prisons. He risked his life to save his haddock-faced friend, not knowing it was HIMSELF who needed the saving. Quite good with the sword. And in every crisis, he would make it out SOMEHOW. Was it because of luck, or was it his pure wit? He was selfless, he never gave up, always respectful and thoughtful about everyone, creative... All of those were pretty Heroic. For a boy.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Slave and Outcast. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Heir to the Hairy Hooligans and Golden Flashmaster, almost King. They sounded like two very different people. But they weren't. 

Which side was real?

"Master?"

Camicazi jumped at the familiar voice, feminine with the hint of a drag on the letter s. For years before, Camicazi had talked to that voice, cuddled it, bonded with it.

Now she drew one of her many swords.

The beautiful golden dragoness turned shockingly pale green and backed away in confusion.

"Y-you're a part of them now, aren't you?"

Camicazi's voice was hesitant. Very unlike her. 

"Did you see what they did to this place? It's a mess. A.. a disaster. Everything has been reduced to ashes. And it's because of the dragons.

"It's not that I'm afraid or anything, of course. I could battle a thousand dragons and not break a sweat, easy-peasy. Just... Just tell me, Stormfly, which side are you on?"

Can I trust you?

Camicazi braced herself. Whatever happened she had to be strong for it. She was a Bog Burglar, and this was reality. Even if it meant she had to lose another one of her closest friends.

Instead of all that, what came was a strong response.

"Master Camicazi, I did not lose against the Red Rage. I am not one of those foolish green-bloods, I am intelligent and I will NOT be controlled by ANYONE whatsoever. 

Stormfly was not purple.

If you listened carefully, you could hear the breath of relief exhaled from Camicazi after she heard these words. But never mind that. She sheathed her sword, offered her leg, and Stormfly curled up around her expertly. It felt... right.

Now back in her golden self, Stormfly rested her head on Camicazi's shoulder, batting her eyelashes.

"I find it somewhat amusing and disappointing at the same time. Underestimate ME for joining those wild, immoral beasts? My, my... It's a very... "new" side of you, I suppose. Hmmm?"

Camicazi swatted a hand at her snooty little dragon.

"And besides, if I left you, I'd never be able to tease that silly little green dragon. His flirting always was quite entertaining."

The two walked away, and Camicazi couldn't help but reminding herself of Hiccup. Stormfly, a dragon, had not left her side. Could Hiccup, a slave, possibly be the same?

And if so, what should she do now?

* * * * *

"Hiccup, please come out. You haven't eaten anything for days!"

The Wodensfang's desperate calls were only responded by a few shuffles as the curled up shape shifted on the dead leaves settled on the floor.

Poor, poor Hiccup. He was half dead with grief. After those horrid Red-Rage dragons had left, they had been turning every rock and leaf in the forest in search of the Windwalker. But Fate was cruel towards them, and the scruffy black dragon was nowhere to be found. Only tufts of fur, scales and blood remained. The last remainders of the truly heroic battle of Windwalker in order to save his master.

Sadly, losing another friend was the last straw for Hiccup's crumbling mind. As the Wodensfang implied, he hadn't eaten in days. He hadn't said much, or done much. He didn't seem to care about the Red-Rage anymore, or becoming King, or saving the dragons. 

The story might've ended there, dear readers, and Hiccup might've just died there, and never become the King. However, we all know that isn't the case. 

The one who saved Hiccup this time, was Toothless. In a very Toothless-like fashion, too.

I'll tell you a little secret. Toothless... isn't what he seems. It'll be explained later, but anyways, Toothless is still a baby. He is barely several months old, if you think in the human way. Babies get very selfish indeed, especially when they haven't been fed for multiple days. Toothless was fuming.

So Toothless shoved the soft-hearted Wodensfang away, and started attacking Hiccup's limp body, clawing, biting, whatever he could do. Hiccup groaned and tried to push the little dragon away, but this only made it worse for Toothless. Toothless swelled up twice his size, he marched over to Hiccup's head, where he once nested in comfortably all the time. He marched over, up over Hiccup's back, and harshly pressed his forehead to his. Hiccup blinked his puffy, red eyes in surprise. Toothless glared back.

"STUPID, STUPID MASTER! T-T-TOOTHLESS ISSA HUNGRY! MASTER IS S-S-S-SO SELFISH! YOU JUST SLEEP HERE LIKE A DEAD DODO, WHILE WODENSFANG AND TOOTHLESS S-STARVE? NO! UNFAIR! UNFAIR! TOOTHLESS WANTA F-FISH! YOU PROMISED TO PROTECT POOR LITTLE TOOTHLESS LIKE A GOOD MASTER! WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT ME?"

Toothless's angry shrieks rang through the air until the Wodensfang finally managed to pull him off Hiccup. Hiccup's eyes were wide as he stared at Toothless, fighting the Wodensfang and.. Surprisingly... Fighting back tears. The poor green dragon began to whimper.

"T-T-Toothless.. N-Not like the Red-Rage dragons. Red-Rage dragons are scary.Toothless HATES this forest. Toothless HATES being alone. Toothless want to be back on Berk, in Hiccup's bed! Toothless DOESN'T want Hiccup to die! TOOTHLESS HATES THIS WAR!"

Hiccup sat up and embraced Toothless tightly, which immediately shut the dragon up. Toothless was so warm, like a tiny hot water bottle. He was so fragile and small, so dependent on Hiccup, so desperate for attention. 

Gods, what had he done? 

"I hate this war too, Toothless, I hate it, and I hate it SO MUCH, I think I forgot about you... I'm so, so, so sorry, Toothless.."

Toothless squirmed inside Hiccup's embrace for a bit, but he settled down quietly.

"G,give me F-FOOD."

The Wodensfang sighed in relief. He knew, somehow, that Toothless had triggered something back into Hiccup: A reason to keep going on.

After all, Hiccup DID promise he would never give Toothless up.

* * * * *

"Bother, bother, bother!"

The rabbit darted out of reach and Hiccup went crashing on the ground. His jaw hurt from the fall, and his knobbly weak knees weren't helping at all. Hiccup HAD agreed to get up and hunt something for Toothless, the Wodensfang and himself(The Wodensfang half threatened him to promise to eat). 

But we all know how bad Hiccup is at running and hand-to-hand combat. He was just as bad at hunting. Making the food, preparing it, that was something he could do. Hiccup was a good cook. But he never was able to catch the ingredients himself. He never truly had the heart to kill the animals himself. 

Now he had no choice. He needed strength from food, and Toothless was sure to bite him to death if he returned empty handed. 

Without weapons like bows or at least a spear, it would be impossible for Hiccup to catch anything, even if it was a half dying chicken. After all that curling-up-and-doing-nothing-at-all, his body was too lethargic to move. 

Thank the Gods that he was Hiccup. He was a thinker, and he had an idea.

Hiccup started to gather branches and twigs that had fallen to the ground, along with the thickest vines he could find. It wasn't difficult, many of the trees had fallen from dragon attacks and there were plenty of vines growing up all around them. Perfect.

Hiccup gathered all his materials and dumped them in a small clearing. He picked up several branches and a couple of vines, using the green ropes to secure each branch into a shape of a cage. Using the strongest knot he had learned from his father, he looped and tied and netted together a decent trap. After connecting the last vine to the flexible branch sticking out of ground, careful not to touch it, he placed some herbs and small plants that would attract his prey. 

Dusting his hands off, he admired his little masterpiece. It wasn't bad for now, but he knew he had to leave this area so the animals would lower their guard. In the meantime, he had been pretty sure that he'd seen a tree somewhere that had fruit- ah, there it was.

The fruits looked strange, none that he'd ever seen before. They were brown and orange, hard, shaped slightly like pears with funny hairs growing all around them. Hiccup was always observative when it came to nature, and he knew he probably shouldn't eat something he didn't know, but then again, there wasn't much to choose from.

He tried to climb the tree. Even though he had experience of climbing trees since he was little, it was harder than he'd thought. This fruit tree was pale and slick, without any good footholds to get a grip on. After multiple failures, Hiccup eventually reached the lowest hanging fruits and began plucking each one off. 

A shriek of delight distracted him, and almost caused him to lose grip on the branch. Hurriedly sliding off the tree, Hiccup gathered all the fruits in his arms and ran towards the direction of the excited hooting of a very certain Toothless Daydream.

The trap had done it's trick, and a brown hare had been caught in the wooden cage. Strong vine tendrils bound it's legs altogether, making it unable to do. Even thought his hunt was successful, Hiccup couldn't help feeling so pitiful about the helpless, struggling creature. He let the thrilled Toothless do the honors for him.

He wasn't so hesitant anymore as soon as the food reached his mouth, though. Hiccup had forgotten how many days had passed since he last had a meal. He literally wolfed it down, the Wodensfang and Toothless doing the same. The fruit tasted quite revolting, but at least it wasn't poisonous. They finished that pretty quickly, too.

The leftovers of their meal sort of emphasized where they actually were. Hiccup really was living in the wilderness of the forest. It still felt so foreign...

The sun began to set by the time the three settled on top of a big oak tree. Toothless had already fallen asleep on Hiccup's chest, and the Wodensfang perched on a higher branch, watching guard as he always did. No matter how Hiccup insisted he sleep, the old dragon stubbornly stood awake overnight. He bitterly reminded Hiccup of how Stoick would watch over him whenever he was sick.

Eventually Hiccup's eyes began to close as well. Everything seemed so much better now. He knew how to find food, he hadn't seen any Red-Rage dragons, all his dragons wer- Oh.

No. Windwalker WAS alive. Hiccup couldn't give up on that belief. He was going to rescue his dragon, wherever he was. And if, if... If he was in fact, dead, Hiccup wasn't going to let him die in vain. He NEEDED to stop this crazy war, stop any more humans or dragons from dying. And he couldn't sit around doing nothing.

He gently moved Toothless away from his vest, making sure not to wake him. He unbuttoned it a bit and pulled out a burnt parchment, partially covered with dried splatters of purple poison. He hadn't touched or seen it in days.

The Red Herring glinted in the moonlight, as if it were winking.


End file.
